ST. GEORGE – The Desert Hills Thunder (3-1, 1-0) travel to Pine View High School to take on the Pine View Panthers (2-2, 0-1) tonight at 7 p.m.
Desert Hills as a chance to put the Panthers in a huge 0-2 hole to start Region play. Pine View is coming off a crushing loss last week to rival Dixie while Desert Hills is coming in winning three straight and looks to pick up another as they go through the toughest part of their schedule with Pine View, Dixie, Snow Canyon and Hurricane the next four games.
On the ground, the Thunder have star running back Mike Needham who is rushing for 114.5 yards per game and leading the Region with 10.9 yards per carry. Like the Panthers, the Thunder have a quarterback that likes to keep it on the ground with quarterback Porter Harris, who has rushed for three rushing touchdowns this season.
When Pine View has their starting quarterback Braxton Peterson in, they keep it on the ground most of the time, running a speed option offense. Pine View’s running back Prentiss Miller and quarterback Braxton Peterson are second and third respectively in the Region in rushing yards per game. Miller is averaging an outstanding 139 yards per game on the ground.
The other Panther quarterback is freshman Kody Wilstead. Wilstead comes in on passing downs, or when the running game is being shut down. Wilstead has an unbelievable arm connecting on over 50 percent of his pass attempts.
The difference in this one will be on the defensive side of the ball. The Thunder have the No. 1 defense in the Region and the second best defense in the state, only giving up 7.5 points per game. Pine View is coming in giving up 24.3 points per game but has played much tougher competition.
The Thunder and the Panthers are the two most balanced teams in the Region, keeping a good mix of both the passing game and the ground game.
Pat’s Pick: Desert Hills in another upset pick of the week
Notes: Pat’s pick went undefeated for the second week in a row and is 19-4 this season.
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